View/Open - ARAN - National University of Ireland, Galway

7.4.2 Being Personal
277
Chapter 7 Discussion
This research suggests that knowledge of who the resident was in their past can
be used to inform their present or future wishes particularly if they are unable to
presently determine or verbalise this due to cognitive impairment. Therefore it is
recommended that staff and family members in residential care units need to
work together on determining how a residents past way of life might determine
how they wish to spend their present day in residential care. For example if they
liked being outdoors, if they liked company or being on their own and if they
liked to say up late etc.
Staff and family members in this research revealed that they weren’t sure what
the residents were really capable of and residents themselves expressed low
expectations of what they could do in “a home”. Observations revealed that
residents made very little meaningful decisions throughout the day. It is
recommended that staff and family members of residential care units need to
engage the resident in meaningful decision making and need to understand that
older peoples inability to make some decisions does not inhibit them from
making all decisions. For example, a resident may not be able to decide whether
or not they want to go out to their home for a visit or who to vote for in a
government election but they may be able to decide which colour jumper to wear
today. It is imperative that staff and family members of residents in residential
care units maximise these opportunities to facilitate a resident in decision making
which is an element of resident autonomy.
In summary it is recommended that in order to enhance resident autonomy that
staff, family and resident members of residential care units should work together
on getting to know who the resident is today based on who they were yesterday
(in the past). This process should encourage resident decision-specific capacity.
7.4.3 Contribution to Knowledge
This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the background, issues and
challenges relevant to autonomy for older people in residential care.